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Topping the chart of new Canadian immigrants is India; Nigeria, the Philippines and China follows. A total of 263,180 new immigrants arrived Canada in the first two quarters of 2023, over 84,ooo of this number were Indians.

In 2022, a total of 437,610 new permanent residents landed in Canada; 232,120 new permanent residents landed in the first half of the year.

Below is a country-wise list of the top 10 sources of new permanent residents who arrived between January and June 2023.

New permanent residents arrived between January and June of 2023

India continues to top the list of new citizens

IRCC processed 177,415 citizenship applicants between January and June 2023; out of which more than 35,000 were Indian nationals.

Among the top 5 sources of new citizens for Canada are Filipinos, Nigerians, Syrians, and Pakistanis.

Citizenship uptake is still lower as compared to 2022, with Canada welcoming 232,120 new citizens in the same time period last year.

In 2022, a total of 437,610 individuals became new Canadian citizens. This data includes grants of citizenship, adoptions, and resumptions of citizenship.

New citizens between January and June 2023

India is also top source of New international Students

Canada welcomed a total of 434,899 new international students in the first half of 2023, and more than 40% were from India.

Following India, Nigeria, the Philippines, China, and Nepal are among the top 5 source countries of new international students coming to Canada.

During the same time period last year, IRCC approved only 292,376 new study permit applications. A total of 736,627 new study permit applications were approved in 2022.

Below is the country-wise list of new international students approved in the first half of 2023.

New International Students between January and June 2023

Nearly 300,000 Visitor Visas have been approved for Indians

299,062 Indians got visitor visas approved as per the IRCC’s latest data on the processing of visitor visas in the first half of 2023.

In total, the IRCC approved 987,877 visitor visas in the first two quarters of 2023, which is just 14% less than the total of 1,154,945 in the full year of 2022.

Visitor visas approved January – June 2023

This data includes foreign nationals coming as tourists or to visit family or friends, but does not include TRVs issued to temporary foreign workers, foreign students, diplomats, etc.

In the last 5 years, Canada landed 1,690,480 permanent residents. A total of 263,180 new permanent residents have already arrived in the first half of 2023 still heading towards the 2023 record target of 465,000 permanent residents.

IRCC Minister of Canada, Marc Miller, says that despite the housing crisis currently faced by Canadians due to the increase in population, the Canadian government is not looking at reducing the annual immigration levels .

The new Immigration Levels plan 2024-2026 will be revealed by Marc Miller in November 2023, but he has made it clear that they will not cut down on the annual targets. Furthermore, Miller said that the federal government is open to reconsidering international student enrollment, particularly amid fraud concerns.

He said in an interview, question is whether we should raise or maintain the annual levels, but there is no question of reducing them.

“It is something that I need to look into to determine whether or not we should update them upward. However, I don’t think we’re in a position where we should be considering lowering them by any stretch of the imagination.”

Sean Fraser, the former minister of immigration now housing minister also sees immigration as a way to solve the housing crisis as he believes immigrants with skilled trades can help in building more houses.

Former IRCC Minister Sean Fraser says

“closing the door on newcomers is not a solution to the housing crunch; rather, they need to welcome immigrants who can help build more houses. When I talked to developers, in my capacity as a minister of immigration before today, one of the chief obstacles to completing the projects that they want to get done is having access to the labour force to build the houses that they need.”

It is important to note that the annual immigration levels plan is only set for the number of new permanent residents to be landed, not the temporary residents.

The Canadian population grew by more than one million individuals in 2022, with 437,180 new permanent residents and 607,782 temporary residents contributing to the increase. 263,180 new permanent residents have already landed in the first half of 2023 and still on track to surpass the annual target for 2023 which is 465,000.

TD issued a report at the end of July warning that “continuing with a high-growth immigration strategy could increase the housing shortage by approximately 500,000 units in just two years.”

A leading financial institution, the TD Bank, released a report, observes that economists have been warning about the economic consequences of an aging population. The report says that the increase in immigration has provided a solution, and government policies did produce results, but this sudden population gain based on immigration might have gone “too far, too quickly.”

The federal and provincial immigration departments has put more attention on welcoming individuals in Skilled Trades (which include plumbers, carpenters, welders, electricians, e.t.c) to get more help in building homes. Miller says that construction is one of the industries with the most severe labour deficit, and immigrants can help construct the new homes needed to alleviate the housing crisis.

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